


From One Mother to Another

by ninathechindianwriter



Category: Enola Holmes (2020)
Genre: Childbirth, Enola is a good mom, Life Lessons, cute family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:14:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27583255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninathechindianwriter/pseuds/ninathechindianwriter
Summary: As she recovers from birth, Enola has a conversation with her mother in law regarding her goals for raising her daughter and going against convention. Luckily, Lady Tewksbury is open to Enola’s outlook and is warming up to her ideas.
Relationships: Enola Holmes/Viscount "Tewky" Tewksbury
Comments: 8
Kudos: 146





	From One Mother to Another

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Exams are going to be over soon so don’t worry! I haven’t abandoned the fandom! In the meantime, I just want to warn you that a LOT of Tewksbury family fics are on the way so prepare for some cute family fluff :)) As always, please enjoy and check out my other fics if you haven’t already!  
> One more week of classes and my first semester of college is over! YIPEE :)

“Come in,” Enola called out as she heard knocking on the bedroom door. 

The door opened and Lady Tewksbury walked in with a tray of snacks and tea. She placed the tray on the foot of the bed before taking a seat next to it. 

“How do you feel, my dear?” she asked as she looked at Enola with a motherly smile.

Enola grinned proudly as she looked at her daughter.

“Sore,” she admitted. “I don’t think there ever was a time in my life where I was physically unable to stand. It’s amazing to me how much a woman can go through.” 

“Ah, yes. It’s quite the undertaking. But I assure you, you’ll be back on your feet in a few weeks and it will feel as if nothing happened,” said Lady Tewksbury as she fondly looked at her granddaughter. “It feels like yesterday when William was born. She looks just like him, you know. Exactly the same, dare I say.” 

“Indeed,” Enola agreed as she adjusted her position. “I must say, he is very proud of that,” she added with a laugh. “Every time I look into her eyes, I see him staring back. She’s his little rose, after all.” 

“She is very beautiful,” said Lady Tewksbury with a chuckle. “And I remember my husband was the same. He couldn’t believe that his baby looked so much like him. And from watching our son grow from a baby to a man, he looks even more like him. Everything about him is just like his father. It’s amazing how that works. Now, enough talk about them.” She moved closer to the bed. “Today is all about Rose.” 

“I guess it is,” Enola replied as she ran her finger through Rose’s soft hair. The two women sat there in comfortable silence as they enjoyed the presence of their new family member. Enola never imagined she would be in so much pain, yet also be so happy about it. All her life, she has sustained countless amounts of injuries and had been in many life threatening situations but none of them prepared her for this. Not only was childbirth painful, but the days following were just as bad, if not worse. She could barely walk to the bathroom alone and even moving slightly in bed gave her great discomfort. She had to admit, being this vulnerable and weak was quite embarrassing, but over the past few days she came to realize, with the help of Lady Tewksbury, that it was normal for women to go through such pain. Enola knew that if this amount of pain was normal, her claim that women were strong and capable only got stronger. In fact, her experience made her think that women were stronger than any other creature on Earth. 

“Do you have any plans?” Lady Tewksbury’s voice broke the silence. Enola looked at her with a quizzical look. 

“What do you mean?” she asked as she began to rock Rose, who was starting to squirm. 

“Regarding Rose,” said Lady Tewksbury. “Are you going to hire a wet nurse or a nanny?”

“No,” said Enola firmly. She didn’t mean to be harsh with her tone towards the older woman, whom she loved dearly, but she and Tewksbury already made the decision. They would raise their child without the help of a nanny and she vowed to breastfeed her child herself. She took a deep breath before speaking again.

“No. Children should be with their parents as much as possible in their formative years and I will certainly not allow my daughter to suckle a stranger’s milk. She is MY daughter and I will raise her as such. Nobody outside this family shall be allowed to take responsibility for her.”

Lady Tewksbury nodded her head slowly and for a moment, Enola was nervous about what she was going to say. However, she smiled and placed her hand on Rose’s head. 

“I have a little secret to tell you. It’s something I have never told anyone outside the family” she said as she leaned in. “When I had William, I wanted to breastfeed him. I wanted to avoid hiring a nanny. But, convention prevented me from pursuing my wishes.”

Enola looked up, suddenly eager to hear her story. She took the reaction as a cue to continue speaking.

“My husband and I tried very hard to conceive a child. After nine years of marriage and two miscarriages, William was born and from the moment he was placed into my arms, I knew I had something far more precious than all of my jewels and family fortune combined.” 

She paused and smiled at the memory before continuing. Enola leaned forward, eager to hear the rest of the story.

“My husband and I committed ourselves to raising him. Like you, we couldn’t imagine him in the hands of someone else. Heavens, I was even bold enough to say I wished to nurse him! My mother in law had other ideas and she would hear nothing from us. We were embarrassing to her and embarrassing to the family name, she had told us. For the longest time I was scared she would take him away from us and put him in the care of someone who did not love him. Eventually, when the flames died down, she agreed to a deal. William would have a wet nurse and we agreed that we would hire a nanny only for practical use. Her job included bathing him, feeding him, and watching him if my husband and I had to go somewhere. Otherwise, he was our child. I wasn’t trying to empower myself. All I wanted was my son and I eventually got what I wanted.”

Enola took a deep breath, processing what Lady Tewksbury had just told her. She looked down at Rose again, struggling to imagine the emotional pain her mother in law went through as she thought of not being able to raise her child. She was definitely surprised, especially since she knew Lady Tewksbury had traditional values but regardless of social class or values, loving and raising a child was a mother’s job, not a stranger’s. After staring into space for a few minutes, Enola looked up again and gave a sad smile. 

“You did a good job,” she said softly. “Your son grew up to be the kindest, smartest, and funniest person I have ever met.”

“Thank you,” Lady Tewksbury said, returning Enola’s smile. “And I apologize for bringing it up with you. I had a feeling you would say no to it but I asked just in case. I would think you would have been wary of breastfeeding at least because you may have wanted to protect your image and your daughter’s from the vicious women and the gossip.”

Enola shook her head.

“I could care less about my image,” she replied. “Their tongues have no effect on me whatsoever. Besides, they already gossip and insult me enough. Why not give them another thing? Otherwise, I fear they will become too bored,” she added with a playful wink. 

“Ah, yes. My dear, you always have a way of turning things into a positive,” Lady Tewksbury said with a chuckle. 

“It’s the best way to live, I must say. Think not of others, but yourself. Don’t let others affect what you think, do, or want.”

“In all seriousness, Enola,” Lady Tewksbury started as she cleared her throat. “I’m very traditional, as you may know. I was raised to act a certain way, think a certain way, simply just to exist and please everyone around me. Especially my spouse. Luckily, we got along very well and married for love but that’s a topic for another time. Anyways, I’m starting to warm up to your ideas. I must admit, I’m very happy with my status and life. I’m not trying to change the system and I never understood why women want that. I supported the progessive ideas of my husband and son, but they mostly applied to class and economic issues. Things I could get behind. Feminism is different and I never could get behind it until I met you.” 

“It’s all about doing what you wish,” Enola said as she readjusted Rose. “If you want something or want to be something, go for it. Don’t let society dictate what you do in life.” 

“I’m beginning to see that,” said Lady Tewksbury, nodding her head. “And you’re an extraordinary woman, Enola. And now, an extraordinary mother.”

“Thank you,” Enola said. “I want to raise her to think she can be anything she wants. I want her to be whoever she wants and if nobody is happy, she shall stand up for what she believes. She came into a tough world and it’s my job to ensure she navigates her way through it.” 

“Indeed. I can already sense she’ll be just like her mother. Now, would you like a sandwich? I can tell you’re very hungry.” 

“I would, actually” said Enola as she accepted the sandwich with her free hand. “I have forgotten how little I’ve eaten. 

“It’s easy to forget,” said Lady Tewksbury with an understanding smile. “It is exciting to have a baby, after all.”

“I guess it is,” Enola laughed as she took a bite of the sandwich. It tasted very good, and wasn’t too heavy. In fact, it felt like she was biting into a cloud. After she enjoyed it, she looked down at Rose again, coming face to face with the baby’s big brown eyes. 

“Rose, my love! You’re awake? How long have you been up?”

“Did you hear us talking?” Lady Tewksbury cooed as she looked down at the baby. “You were very quiet.” 

“I think she was listening,” said Enola as she leaned over and kissed Rose’s forehead. “Did you hear anything interesting, my little one?”

“I’m surprised she didn’t cry this whole time. You’re a very sweet baby just like your papa.” Lady Tewksbury spoke to the baby in a sing-song voice. 

“We were talking about you,” Enola whispered. “You were talking about how you will grow up to be a strong and independent woman. It’s a tough world out there, and you must fight for yourself and what you want.”

Rose’s eyes did not leave her mother as she began to make gurgling sounds. She then held out one of her hands towards Enola, who took her free hand and started stroking the baby’s open palm. Rose’s fingers grasped the finger tightly. 

“Yes, that is mummy’s finger,” cooed Enola. “It’s very interesting, isn't it?”

“She’s a curious one,” Lady Tewksbury as she placed her hand on her granddaughter’s head. “Much like her mother.” 

“She will ask lots of questions,” Enola agreed. “I, as well as you, her papa, and her uncle Whimbrel, will have the answers.”

“And if we don’t, she shall find them,” Lady Tewkwbury finished. 

“She will. Our little girl can do anything and everything.”

“She can. And there’s nobody better to lead her through life than her mother and father.” She ran her finger along Rose’s cheek. “You’re a lucky girl, sweet Rose.” 

Before Enola could respond, Rose let out a cry. Her pink face turned red as she squeezed her eyes shut. Enola started to bounce her arms, hoping the movement would calm the infant but she then let out another cry, followed by a few whimpers. 

“I think she might be hungry,” Lady Tewksbury said as she stood up. “I recognize that cry. It means they’re hungry. I’ll let you two have some privacy,” she added as she placed a loving hand on Enola’s shoulder. 

“Thank you,” said Enola as she turned her daughter’s face towards her chest. “Would you mind fetching my husband? I think he’ll be very happy to know that his daughter’s awake.”

“Of course, dear. And one more thing.” She paused before speaking again. “I would like to thank you.”

“For what?” Enola asked as she looked up into her mother in law’s warm eyes. 

“For teaching me that anything is possible. For teaching me that change isn’t bad after all. Most of all, thank you for teaching me that one shouldn't fear the opinions of others. It’s time we make the world a better place for Rose and the rest of little girls in England.”

“Of course,” said Enola with a tired smile. “As my brother once told me, ‘the choice is always yours.’”

“You never run out of wise words, do you?” Lady Tewksbury said with a chuckle. 

“To be fair, most of them come from other people,” Enola laughed with her. “But it’s my job to hold those words true. The choice is always yours. We can do anything we want.”

“Yes. Now, enough of me. I’ll leave you and Rose alone and I’ll go fetch my son,” Lady Tewksbury said as she exited the room. 

“Sounds lovely,” Enola whispered as she looked lovingly down at Rose, who was peacefully suckling. “I will do anything to make the world a better place for you, my love.”


End file.
